See also: 1963 in music, other events of 1964, 1965 in music, 1960s in music and the list of 'years in music'

Events

• January 1 - Top of the Pops premieres on BBC television.
• January 3 - Footage of the Beatles performing a concert in Bournemouth, England is shown on The Jack Paar Show.
• January 15 - Vee Jay Records files a lawsuit against Capitol Records and Swan Records over manufacturing and distribution rights to Beatles albums. On April 9, Capitol Records is granted an injunction restraining Vee Jay Records from further manufacturing, distributing or advertising recordings by the Beatles.
• January 18 - The Beatles appear on the Billboard magazine charts for the first time.
• February 1 - Indiana Governor Matthew E. Welsh declares the song "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen pornographic. He requests that the Indiana Broadcasters Association ban the record. Governor Welsh claimed that his "ears tingle" when he heard the song. Publisher Max Firetag offers $1,000 to anyone that can find anything "suggestive" in the song's lyrics.
• February 7 - The Beatles arrive in the United States and are greeted by thousands of screaming fans at New York's Kennedy Airport.
• February 9 - The Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan show, which breaks television ratings records.
• February 16 - The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan show.
• February 23 - The Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan show.
• March - Capitol Records is bombarded with requests for heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay's album, I Am the Greatest, following Clay's defeat of Sonny Liston in February.
• March 6 - Elvis Presley's 14th motion picture, Kissin' Cousins is released to theaters.
• March 14 - Billboard Magazine reports that sales of Beatle records make up 60% of the entire singles market.
• March 16 - Disc jockey Alan Freed is charged with tax evasion.
• March 21 - For the first time in history, all Top Ten singles on the UK chart are by British acts.
• March 24 - John Lennon's first book, In His Own Write is published.
• March 27 - The Beatles occupy the top six spots on the Australian pop chart.
• March 28 - Wax likenesses of The Beatles are put on display in London's Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. The Beatles are the first pop stars to be displayed at the museum.
• April 4 - The Beatles occupied all five top positions on Billboard's Top Pop Singles chart with their singles "Can't Buy Me Love", "Twist and Shout", "She Loves You", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", and "Please Please Me".
• April 11 - The Beatles hold 14 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Previously, the highest number of concurrent singles by one artist on the Hot 100 was nine by Elvis Presley, December 19, 1956.
• April 26 - The Rolling Stones release their eponymous debut album
• May 2 - In the United States, The Beatles' Second Album climbs to the #1 spot on the LP charts in only its second week of release, making it the first album ever to reach #1 that quickly.
• July 31 - Country singer Jim Reeves dies in an airplane crash near Nashville.
• Bob Dylan released his fourth album, Another Side of Bob Dylan.
• September 16 - Shindig! premieres on ABC.
• September 22 - Fiddler on the Roof opens on Broadway.
• October 19 - Simon and Garfunkel release Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., which is initially a total flop upon first release. After release of their second album, Sounds of Silence, in 1966, it hits #30 on the Billboard charts.
• December 11 - Sam Cooke is killed under mysterious circumstances in Los Angeles, California. Shortly thereafter, "A Change Is Gonna Come," a song considered by many to be his best, is released.

• Simon and Garfunkel form to record for Columbia Records, marking first time that ethnic names are used in pop music.
• Dalida is the first star to receive a Platinum Disc in Europe.
• 11 year old Keith Green becomes the youngest person ever to sign a contract with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) after publishing, recording and releasing the song "The Way I Used to Be".
• Frank Zappa's musical career begins.
• Phil Ochs' musical career begins.
• Marianne Faithfull's musical career begins.
• Sonny and Cher begin performing together.
• MC5 forms.
• The Mamas & the Papas form.

Albums released

• Shut Down Volume 2 - The Beach Boys
• All Summer Long - The Beach Boys
• The Beach Boys' Christmas Album - The Beach Boys
• Beach Boys Concert - The Beach Boys
• A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles
• With the Beatles - The Beatles
• Joan Baez/5 - Joan Baez
• A Love Supreme - John Coltrane
• Ain't That Good News - Sam Cooke
• Amore Scusami - Dalida
• ''Donna The Prima Donna - Dion DiMucci
• The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan
• Ella at Juan-Les-Pins - Ella Fitzgerald
• Hello, Dolly! - Ella Fitzgerald
• Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Johnny Mercer Songbook - Ella Fitzgerald
• Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits - Johnny Horton
• Early Orbison - Roy Orbison
• More of Roy Orbison's Greatest Hits - Roy Orbison
• It Hurts to Be in Love - Gene Pitney
• Said I To Shostakovitch - Tupper Saussy
• Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. - Simon and Garfunkel
• Sinatra Sings...Academy Award Winners - Frank Sinatra
• America, I Hear You Singing - Frank Sinatra
• It Might As Well Be Swing - Frank Sinatra (with Count Basie)
• Softly, As I Leave You - Frank Sinatra
• Simmer Down - The Wailing Wailers (Bunny Wailer, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh)
• The Swinger's Guide To Mary Poppins - The Tupper Saussy Quartet with Charlie McCoy

Top hits on record

• "All Day And All Of The Night" - The Kinks
• "Amore Scusami" - Dalida
• "Baby Love" - The Supremes
• "Can't Buy Me Love" - The Beatles
• "A Change Is Gonna Come" - Sam Cooke
• "Chaque instant de chaque jour" - Dalida
• "Chug-A-Lug" - Roger Miller
• "Dancin' In The Street" - Martha & the Vandellas
• "Dawn" - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
• "First Quarrel" - Paul & Paula
• "The French Song" - Lucille Starr
• "Fun Fun Fun" - The Beach Boys
• "The Girl From Ipanema" - Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto
• "Glad All Over" - Dave Clark Five
• "Go Now" - The Moody Blues
• "Goldfinger" - Shirley Bassey
• "A Hard Day's Night" - The Beatles
• "Hello Dolly" recorded by Louis Armstrong
• "House Of The Rising Sun" - The Animals
• "I Feel Fine"/"She's A Woman" - The Beatles
• "I Get Around" - The Beach Boys
• "I Guess I'm Crazy" - Jim Reeves
• "Welcome To My World" - Jim Reeves
• "It's All Over Now" - The Rolling Stones
• "It's Over" - Roy Orbison
• "(Just Like) Romeo And Juliet - The Reflections
• "Needles And Pins" - The Searchers
• "Oh, Pretty Woman" - Roy Orbison (reported to be the fastest selling single in history)
• "Rag Doll" - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
• "She's Not There" - The Zombies
• "A Summer Song" - Chad and Jeremy
• "(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me" - Sandie Shaw
• "Twist and Shout" - The Beatles
• "Under The Boardwalk" - The Drifters
• "Walk on By" - Dionne Warwick
• "Welcome To My World" - Jim Reeves
• "Wishin' and Hopin'" - Dusty Springfield
• "You Really Got Me" - The Kinks

See also: Hot 100 No. 1 Hits of 1964 (USA)

Published popular music

• "The Addams Family theme song" w.m. Vic Mizzy
• "Anatevka" - w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
• "Anyone Who Had a Heart" w. Hal David m. Burt Bacharach
• "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island" w.m. Frank DeVol and Sherwood Schwartz
• "Before the Parade Passes By" w.m. Jerry Herman, from the musical Hello, Dolly!
• "Bewitched theme song" w.m. Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller
• "Chapel Of Love" w.m. Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry
• "Chim Chim Cher-ee" w.m. Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
• "Dear Heart" w. Jay Livingston & Ray Evans m. Henry Mancini
• "Do You Love Me?" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
• "Feed the Birds" w.m. Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman from the film Mary Poppins
• "Gimme Some" w. Lee Adams m. Charles Strouse
• "Glad All Over" w.m. Dave Clark & Mike Smith
• "Goin' out of My Head" w.m. Teddy Randazzo & Bobby Weinstein
• "Golden Boy" w. Lee Adams m. Charles Strouse
• "Hang on Sloopy" w.m. Bert Russell & Wes Farrell
• "Have I the Right" w.m. Ken Howard & Alan Blaikley
• "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte", m. Frank DeVol from the film of the same name
• "If I Were a Rich Man" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock. Introduced in the musical Fiddler on the Roof by Zero Mostel. Performed by Topol in the 1971 film version.
• "It's Over" w.m. Roy Orbison & Bill Dees
• "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
• "Miracle of Miracles" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
• "Now I Have Everything" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
• "Oh, Pretty Woman" w.m. Roy Orbison & Bill Dees
• "Pass Me By" w. Carolyn Leigh m. Cy Coleman. Introduced by Digby Wolfe in the film Father Goose
• "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" w.m. Jerry Herman, from the musical Hello, Dolly!
• "So Long, Dearie" w.m. Jerry Herman, from the musical Hello, Dolly!
• "A Spoonful of Sugar" w.m. Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman from the film Mary Poppins
• "Style" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen from the film Robin And The Seven Hoods
• "Sunrise, Sunset" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
• "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" w.m. Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman from the film Mary Poppins
• "That's Life" w.m. Dean Kay & Kelly Gordon
• "To Life" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
• "Tradition" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
• "Where Did Our Love Go?" w.m. Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and Edward Holland
• "A World Without Love" w.m. John Lennon and Paul McCartney
• "Zorba's Dance" m. Mikis Theodorakis

Classical music

• Eyvin Andersen - Concerto for violin and orchestra
• Aaron Copland - Music for a Great City
• George Crumb - Four Nocturnes (Night Music II) for violin and piano
• Mario Davidovsky - Electronic Study No. 3
• Mario Davidovsky - Synchronisms No. 2 for flute, clarinet, violin, cello and tape
• Mario Davidovsky - Synchronisms No. 3 for cello and electronic sound
• Henri Dutilleux - Métaboles
• Dmitri Shostakovich - String Quartet No.9 in E flat major, Op.117
• Dmitri Shostakovich - String Quartet No.10 in A flat major, Op.118
• James Tenney - Music for Player Piano

Opera

• Luciano Berio - Traces
• Benjamin Britten - Curlew River
• Alberto Ginastera - Don Rodrigo
• Robert Ward - The Lady from Colorado

Musical theater

• Anyone Can Whistle - Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre on April 4 and ran for 9 performances
• Fiddler on the Roof (Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick) - Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on September 22 and ran for 3242 performances
• Funny Girl (Jule Styne and Bob Merrill) - Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on March 26 and ran for 1348 performances
• Golden Boy - Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre on October 20 and ran for 569 performances
• Hello, Dolly! (Jerry Herman) - Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on January 16 and ran for 2844 performances
• Little Me - London production opened at the Cambridge Theatre on November 18 and ran for 334 performances
• Robert and Elizabeth - London production opened at the Lyric Theatre on October 20 and ran for 948 performances
• Salad Days (Julian Slade) - London revival
• She Loves Me - London production opened at the Lyric Theatre on April 29 and ran for 189 performances
• What Makes Sammy Run? - Broadway production opened at the 54th Street Theatre on February 27 and ran for 540 performances

Musical films

• A Hard Day's Night
• Mary Poppins
• My Fair Lady
• Robin And The Seven Hoods
• The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies De Cherbourg)
• The Unsinkable Molly Brown
• Viva Las Vegas

Births

• January 5 - Grant Young, Soul Asylum
• January 10 - Brad Roberts, Crash Test Dummies
• January 29 - Roddy Frame, Aztec Camera
• February 4 - Noodles of The Offspring
• February 5 - Duff McKagan of Guns n' Roses
• March 20 - Tracy Chapman
• April 12 - Amy Ray, Indigo Girls
• April 16 - Dave Pirner, Soul Asylum
• April 17 - Maynard James Keenan, Tool
• April 25 - Andy Bell, Erasure
• May 12 - Mr. Brett, Bad Religion & NOFX
• May 26 - Lenny Kravitz
• May 30 - Tom Morello, Rage Against The Machine & Audioslave
• May 31 - Darryl McDaniels, Run D.M.C.
• June 6 - Jay Bentley, Bad Religion
• June 13 - Robbie Merril, Godsmack
• June 22 - Mike Edwards, Jesus Jones
• July 20 - Chris Cornell, Soundgarden & Audioslave
• July 22 - Will Calhoun, Living Colour
• August 1 - Adam Duritz, Counting Crows
• August 17 - Colin James
• September 7 - Eazy-E, NWA
• September 30 - Robby Takac, Goo Goo Dolls
• October 5 - Dave Dededer, Presidents of the United States of America
• October 6 - Matthew Sweet
• October 10 - Neneh Cherry
• October 12 - Sam Brown
• October 20 - Jim Sonefeld, Hootie & The Blowfish
• November 6 - Corey Glover, Living Colour
• November 14 - Joseph Run Simmons, Run DMC
• November 14 - Nic Dalton, The Lemonheads
• November 24 - Tony Rambola, Godsmack

Deaths

• January 15 - Jack Teagarden
• February 25 - Johnny Burke, lyricist
• May 10 - Carol Haney, dancer and choreographer
• July 31 - Jim Reeves, American country singer, in a plane crash
• August 14 - Johnny Burnette
• September 28 - Nacio Herb Brown
• October 10 - Eddie Cantor
• October 15 - Cole Porter
• November 5 - Buddy Cole
• November 30 - Don Redman, US arranger, bandleader and saxophonist
• December 2 - Sam H. Stept, (67), Russian-born US songwriter, pianist and conductor
• December 9 - Edith Sitwell, poet and collaborator of William Walton
• December 11 - Alma Mahler
• December 11 - Sam Cooke, singer

Awards

Grammy Awards

• Grammy Awards of 1964

Eurovision Song Contest

• Eurovision Song Contest 1964

External Charts

• Pop Culture Madness 1964 Pop Music Chart

See also: 1963 in music, other events of 1964, 1965 in music, 1960s in music and the list of 'years in music'

1964 in music

1964 en musique | 1964 - muzyka | 1964 в музыке | Musikåret 1964